Boys and girls, What a blessing it is, that during the pandemic, our God is still faithful, providing everything we need for us. Today I feel so honored that I can join the HOC6 children Sunday worship with you all. You have just done a great singing and praising, and the singing leaders, oh, I remember your names: Christine, Victorine, and Tiffany, what a great song “Above all!’ you just led singing! Yes, our God is above all powers, above all kings, above all nature and created things!
Your Pastor had talked about God’s attributes and you should have known that our God is Almighty, Holy, Righteous, Love, Faithful, and last Sunday he talked about “God is provider.” Today he wanted me to give you a very important attribute of God: “God is eternal.” Eternal? What is eternal? I don’t get it. Who knows what Eternal or Eternity means? Yes, it means ever-lasting, forever and forever and without-end. I have a long rope and a short one here. And you see our life in this world is just this short. Now this long rope symbolizes the eternity, and it doesn’t have a beginning neither an end. And it just keeps going and going without any ending – this is the eternity, which our God has. Now let’s take a look at how the Bible tells us that our God is eternal. Your pastor reminds me to ask Jelly to read two Bible verses for us: one from Isaiah 48:12-13, and Revelation 21:6-7. There you go, Jelly!
Isaiah 48:12-13: “12 Listen to me, Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last. 13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.”
Revelation 21:6-7: “6 He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.’”
Waah, God said that He is the first and He is the last, as well. The Lord Jesus is the alpha and the omega, what do alpha and omega mean? OK, alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet, and omega is the last letter. They symbolize the same thing: the beginning and the end. That means there is nothing before our God, and there is nothing after our God, either. On the other hand, if there is something in the universe, God is already there, and if the universe is gone, totally destroyed, God is still there. Straightforwardly speaking, God has no beginning and has no ending, either. All the earth, and the heavens were made by God and were controlled by God. To those who belong to God, they will be called the children of God and they will receive the water of life, and as God is eternal, all His children will be eternal, as well. So, what the important things to us from God’s eternity?
- Since God is eternal, His love is eternal:
Humans’ love is so short, as their lives are short. Your parents love you very much, right? Are they going to love you forever? No way, because, very soon they will become old and then die. And their love surely will be gone. In Psalm 136, God said that His love endures forever. Only our God is eternal, then His love can be eternal, and we can fully trust His love knowing His love never fails.
- Since God is eternal, His salvation is eternal:
God sent His only son Jesus to be our Savior, to be our redeemer from sin. And God has shown this salvation is eternal from the resurrection of the Lord Jesus after He was crucified on the cross. When you accept Jesus as your savior, you can be sure that you have received an eternal salvation. Which will last forever.
- Since God is eternal, His faithfulness is eternal:
God’s promise last forever. He said whoever believes in Jesus, shall not perish but have eternal life, we can be sure that His promise is granted forever. God promised that the Lord Jesus will return gloriously, and He will be the king for the new heaven and the new earth forever, He will make it come true for sure, as His promises never fail.
- Since God is eternal, those who are the children of God in Jesus, are eternal:
God is eternal, surely God’s children will be eternal, as well. Those who believe in Jesus will become the children of God and will receive the eternal life and they will live with the Lord Jesus forever.
Well, we know that God is eternal, His love is eternal, His salvation is eternal, His faithfulness is eternal, and those who believe in Jesus will have eternal life. Now how should we respond to God’s eternity in order that we can benefit from it? I have three points for you:
- Faith: Put our faith in Jesus. The only way to receive the eternal life is to believe in Jesus. As the Bible says in John 1:12: “Yet to all who did receive him (Jesus), to those who believed in his name (Jesus’ name), he gave the right to become children of God. Only when we become the children of God, then we can inherit God’s eternity and we shall have eternal life.
- Hope: Put our hope in heaven. As the eternity is real and it is so so so long, if our current life in this world compares to the eternity, the current life is so short so tiny. Today, we see the Covid-19 pandemic is so severe, it seems there is no hope. Yes, the virus is not eternal, it will pass away. No matter how, our hope is in heaven, just like the Bible says in Philippians 3:20, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” As God is eternal and His salvation in Jesus is eternal, our hope in Him will never fail.
- Love: Love God whole-heartedly. God loves us and send His only son Jesus to us. His love endures forever, we should show our love to God in return. Love Him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength. The best way to show our love to God is to share God’s love to others. Therefore, tell others about God’s love of His sending His only son Jesus to the world for our sins, share this gospel to others.
Remember three things: Faith, Hope and Love in responding to God’s eternity. Before closing, let’s say this memory verse together: Revelation 21:6-7: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.’”